Janet Collins
Billy MDavid Jones and the Underage Children
February 5th 2007 00:07
If you’re after children’s stories, you can’t go past this one. “David Jones and the Underage Children” may very well have been adapted from The Golden Book, and features mild history-making legalities and frequent corporate diligence. The Social Critic advises that the following tale is recommended for mature audiences.
War-of-the-words sparked when department store giant David Jones checked the mail sometime last week. Among the countless bills and requests for discounts, the department store chain found some hate mail. What was intended as an advertisement for girl’s wear quickly became a high-profile, one-of-a-kind dog fight and both companies have dropped the mitts.
If DJ’s did receive a letter from think tank The Australia Institute, it would have read something like this: “Dear DJs, stop peddling child porn. Sincerely, Clive Hamilton – Executive Director”. But I suppose with accusations like that, the sky’s the limit, and they took to the streets to notify everyone: David Jones has erotic ads.
The retailer has been on edge since a damning report in 2006 accused themselves and Myer of eroticising children for the company’s ‘bottom line’. Brian Walters SC, vice president of Free Speech Victoria, took corporate conspiracy idea further, claiming that such organisations are defacing the democratic system. The statement seemed to be directed at David Jones, accusing them of amassing huge costs for the Institute to satisfy a petty vendetta. (That’s not a direct quote; it’s my impression from what was actually said, viewable at The Age.)
In the Court of Public Opinion (N.B. not an actual court), David Jones will most likely side with the research condemning them, in a bid to save face. The October ‘06 media release, titled “Corporate paedophilia - sexualising children by advertising and marketing", will no doubt play a large part in the retailer’s lawsuit, claiming that “loss or damage” has resulted from The Australia Institute’s angry ideas.
David Jones covered their bases with this comment: "David Jones does not knowingly cause the publication of material which can be used by paedophiles for their sexual gratification." Strange, because the last time I checked, their ads were promoting paedophilia. The Federal Court of Australia has quite a case on their hands.
The ad that fuelled the fire
If DJ’s did receive a letter from think tank The Australia Institute, it would have read something like this: “Dear DJs, stop peddling child porn. Sincerely, Clive Hamilton – Executive Director”. But I suppose with accusations like that, the sky’s the limit, and they took to the streets to notify everyone: David Jones has erotic ads.
The retailer has been on edge since a damning report in 2006 accused themselves and Myer of eroticising children for the company’s ‘bottom line’. Brian Walters SC, vice president of Free Speech Victoria, took corporate conspiracy idea further, claiming that such organisations are defacing the democratic system. The statement seemed to be directed at David Jones, accusing them of amassing huge costs for the Institute to satisfy a petty vendetta. (That’s not a direct quote; it’s my impression from what was actually said, viewable at The Age.)
In the Court of Public Opinion (N.B. not an actual court), David Jones will most likely side with the research condemning them, in a bid to save face. The October ‘06 media release, titled “Corporate paedophilia - sexualising children by advertising and marketing", will no doubt play a large part in the retailer’s lawsuit, claiming that “loss or damage” has resulted from The Australia Institute’s angry ideas.
David Jones covered their bases with this comment: "David Jones does not knowingly cause the publication of material which can be used by paedophiles for their sexual gratification." Strange, because the last time I checked, their ads were promoting paedophilia. The Federal Court of Australia has quite a case on their hands.
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Comment by Anonymous
It's not even about pedophiles, it's just terrible that they can do such things to innocent children. They should be out there having fun, not being exploited for profit.
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
You can buy g-strings and bra's for 8 year old in Target. I think that's so wrong....but it obviously sells, otherwise they wouldn't stock it. So we can blame Myer and DJs, but I think their advertising is probably more of a reflection on our society than anything else.
This is a really great post. I didn't even know about this court case. Great work!